System and methods for glass recycling at a beneficiator

ABSTRACT

The invention provides systems and methods for obtaining recycled mixed cullet at a beneficiator. The recycled mixed cullet can be used by glass plants to make new glass articles, such as beverage bottles.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under § 119 to U.S. application Ser.No. 60/534,688 filed Jan. 8, 2004, and to U.S. application Ser. No.60/520,311 filed Nov. 17, 2003, the disclosures of which areincorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides systems and methods for recycling glass at abeneficiator.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cost-effective recycling of materials, such as glass, has become anincreasingly important issue to many businesses due, for example, toever increasing legislative mandates at the federal, state and locallevels, and the associated cost of complying therewith. In a recyclingprocess, an entity such as a beneficiator can face several significantchallenges, particularly with regard to color sorting and recovery ofsufficiently clean glass.

A beneficiator is an entity, within an overall glass recycling system,that typically receives glass from one or more material recoveryfacilities (MRFs), and further sorts, cleans, and/or otherwise preparesthe glass so that it can be used as a raw material, for example, inbottle production. A MRF generally serves as a drop off and grosssorting point for recycled materials so that recycled material such asglass can be transported, for example, to a beneficiator for subsequentprocessing.

A conventional beneficiator generally processes and cleans glass throughtwo separate processing “lines,” or stages (hereinafter lines). Thelines do not have to be physically separate, but rather can be differentstages or aspects of an integrated process.

The first line is used to mechanically and/or manually sort glass bycolor (e.g., flint, amber, green), and remove contaminants. Colorsorting is necessary because conventional glassmaking techniques requirethat like-colored glass be recycled together. A conventionalbeneficiator usually processes one color of glass at a time,particularly when automated optical sorting is performed, generally dueto the added cost associated with providing the equipment and/or laborthat would enable two or more colors of glass to be simultaneously colorsorted. If a conventional beneficiator sorts two or more colors (e.g.,flint and amber) of glass, the entire glass stream must proceed througha series of color-specific optical sorters, or proceed through the linemultiple times, once for each color of glass.

The second line is used to further clean, screen, and/or crush glass toachieve size uniformity. For example, the second line may be used toremove ceramics and other contaminants from the glass stream. The secondline often; however, is inactive, as the line must wait for the firstline to finish processing before receiving the glass stream.

Pieces of mixed color (e.g., flint, amber, green) glass smaller thanabout 10 centimeters in size are referred to as mixed cullet or residue(hereinafter mixed cullet). A conventional beneficiator typicallyamasses stockpiles of mixed cullet, which is typically used either as alandfill cover material, or is further processed, at an additional cost,so that it can be used, for example, as a paving material such asglasphalt (a highway paving material in which recovered ground glassreplaces some of the gravel in asphalt) and/or aggregate (material suchas glass, sand or small stones mixed with a binder such as cement toproduce mortars and concrete).

The beneficiator must color sort the mixed cullet if it wants to extracta higher value therefrom. Current manual and automated sorting methodsare labor intensive and costly. Moreover, color sorting of mixed culletis generally not economically viable. The beneficiator may also blendmixed cullet into the color sorted glass, but is limited by the amountof cullet that can be blended into the separated glass because separatedglass colors must generally ship with, for example, a maximum 5% colorcontamination. Beneficiators thus have a growing supply of mixed cullet,which surpasses available supplies of color sorted material to which itmay be added.

There is a need in the art for more economically viable methods of usingmixed cutlet and more economically viable systems and methods forbeneficiators to recycle and process mixed cullet. The invention isdirected to these, as well as other, important ends.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

invention provides systems for recovering mixed color cullet from wastematerial comprising: a feed hopper to receive waste material; whereinthe waste material comprises mixed color cullet, ferrous material andceramic material; and wherein the mixed color cullet comprises greenglass,flint glass and amber glass; a ferrous separator to remove theferrous material from the waste material; a ceramic detector andseparator to remove ceramic material from the waste material; and anoutput hopper to receive the mixed color cullet. The systems mayoptionally further comprise one or more apparatus selected from thegroup consisting of an air classifier, an optical sorter, a washingstation, a shaker-feeder station, and a drying station.

The invention provides methods for obtaining mixed cullet from wastematerial comprising receiving waste material comprising a first mixedcullet and contaminants; wherein the first mixed cullet comprises greenglass, amber glass and flint glass; and wherein the contaminantscomprise ceramic material and ferrous material; removing thecontaminants from the waste material to yield the first mixed cullet;sorting the first mixed cullet to provide a second mixed culletcomprising about 40% to about 90% by weight flint glass; about 5% toabout 40% by weight amber glass; and about 1% to about 30% by weightgreen glass; and obtaining the second mixed cullet in a receivinghopper. The step of sorting the first mixed cullet to provide the secondmixed cullet can be conducted with an optical sorter.

The invention provides methods for producing mixed cullet comprisingreceiving waste material comprising a first mixed cullet andcontaminants; wherein the first mixed cullet comprises green glass,amber glass and flint glass; separating the mixed cullet from thecontaminants; adding the mixed cullet in an amount greater than 5% byweight to a single color glass stream to produce a second mixed cullet;and obtaining the second mixed cullet in a receiving hopper. In oneembodiment, the mixed cullet is added to the single color glass streamin an amount greater than 10% by weight.

The invention provides methods for improving the efficiency andproductivity of a beneficiator comprising receiving waste materialcomprising mixed cullet and contaminants; wherein the mixed culletcomprises green glass, amber glass and flint glass; and wherein thecontaminants comprise ceramic material and ferrous material; separatingthe mixed cullet from the contaminants; and providing the mixed culletto a glass manufacturer; wherein the method excludes a step ofseparating the green glass, amber glass and flint glass in the mixedcullet by the beneficiator.

These and other aspects of the invention are described in more detailherein.

FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary glass recycling system of theinvention that can process glass of, mixed color and size.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method of theinvention for preparing recycled glass for use at a glass plant.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The inventors have determined that it would be advantageous to simplifythe glass sorting and cleaning process that can be used by abeneficiator; it would be advantageous to enable a beneficiator torecycle glass without having to sort the glass by color; it would beadvantageous to enable a beneficiator to process mixed cullet as well assingle-colored glass; and it would be advantageous to enable abeneficiator to combine increasing quantities of mixed cullet with acolor sorted glass stream; and it would be advantageous to enable abeneficiator to supply glass plants with cullet that can be used inconjunction with, for example, the de-coloring/coloring technologydescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,718,737 and 6,230,521, the disclosures ofwhich are incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIG. 1, generally at 100, illustrates a block diagram of an embodimentof an exemplary beneficiator glass recycling system in accordance withthe invention. The method of FIG. 1 utilizes the following sequential,non-sequential, or sequence independent steps for processing wastematerial that is input 110 into the system 100. The method described inFIG. 1 is exemplary, and may performed in different orders and/orsequences as dictated or permitted by system 100, and any alternativeembodiments thereof. In addition, the method described herein is notlimited to the specific use of system 100, but may be performed usingany system that is capable of obtaining the material(s) as described inconnection with system 100.

System 100 can include a feed hopper 115, a ferrous separator 116, aninspector 118, a contaminant screen 120, a physical screen 125, whichmay have or otherwise utilize a crusher, an air classifier 130, anon-ferrous separator 131, an optical sorter 135, and/or a ceramicdetector and separator 140. System 100 can also include a second feedhopper 150, a second ferrous separator 155, a second non-ferrousseparator 160, a crusher 165, a screen 170, a vacuum 175, a storagebunker 180, and/or a quality control sorter 185. In addition, there is astream or source of input 110. Output 190 is generally glass (e.g.,mixed cullet) that can be provided to a glass plant which can use theoutput 190 to make products, such as glass bottles. One or more conveyorsystems are generally used to transport input 110 between at least someof the equipment described above. Numerous arrangements of the variousequipment can be used. In addition, not all equipment described hereinneed be used in all embodiments.

Input 110, which is usually obtained from a conventional MRF, but mayalso come from a variety of other sources such as companies providingservices for state mandated bottle bills, bottlers'plant scrap and/orhaulers handling material generated at commercial establishments such asrestaurants. Input 110 generally includes mixed color (e.g., flint,green, and/or amber) glass bottles, either whole or broken, of varyingsizes and shapes, that are mixed in with contaminants such as paper,plastics, aluminum, metals, ceramics, and the like. More particularly,input 110 may also include contaminants such as dishware, heat-resistantglass, porcelain, mirror glass, light bulbs, plate glass, concrete,stones, dirt, metal, plastic lids and/or plastic lid rings.

Feed hopper 115 is a standard industrial hopper that receives input 110and “feeds” input 110 to a conveyor belt or line. For example, modelD-20 manufactured by ABCO Engineering Corp., Oelwein, IA may be used.Input 110 then passes under a standard magnetic or electromagneticseparator, such as ferrous separator 116, which removes ferrous materialfrom the remainder of input 110. Ferrous separator 116 may utilize amagnetic belt separator that moves like a conveyor belt, carrying input110 to a stripper magnet for controlled discharge. In one embodiment, astainless steel section on existing conveyor installations may be usedfor maximum magnet effectiveness. A ferrous separator such asmanufactured by Eriez Magnetics, Erie, Pa, may be used.

Inspector 118 is a human inspector who sorts through input 110 andremoves large pieces of contaminants therefrom. Contaminant screen 120,physical screen 125, ceramic detector and separator 140, and screen 170are standard, automated screening mechanisms such as disc screens,vibratory deck screens, and trommels that are configured to mechanicallyseparate specific contaminants (e.g., plastic and metal material) fromthe glass within input 110.

The main design concept and operating principle of a screen is to removerecyclables negatively from input 110. This reduces the need forlabor-intensive removal by positively picking the material from input110, though one or more manual sorters may be utilized to furtherinspect the material and remove miscellaneous contaminants. A trommel isa rotating cylindrical screen that is inclined at a downward angle withthe respect to the horizontal. Material is fed into the trommel at theelevated end, and the separation occurs while the material moves downthe drum. The tumbling action of the trommel effectively separatesmaterials that may be attached to each other.

In particular, contaminant screen 120 further screens for contaminantsthat exceed a predetermined size and that were not removed by inspector118. Contaminant screen may be a disk screen manufactured by BulkHandling Systems, Eugene, Oreg. However, other types of screens, such asa vibratory deck screen, may also be used. Contaminant screen and/or thesize of the screen that is to be used with contaminant screen 120 can beselected to accommodate the predetermined size. Before contaminantscreen 120, a crusher (not shown) may be used to allow glass to be sizedreduced and fall through screen 120, while other items that do notcrush, such as plastic and aluminum containers, will retain their shapeand be screened out.

Input 110 proceeds to physical screen 125, which screens out pieces ofglass smaller than, for example, approximately 1 centimeter in sizebecause pieces of this size are typically contaminated with ceramicsthat cannot be detected efficiently by known optical sorters. Physicalscreen 125 can be a vibrating screen, such as manufactured by GeneralKinematics Corp, Barrington, Ill. Removal of ceramics from input 110 isdesirable because ceramic impurities remaining in the glass stream mayadversely affect the glass recycling and manufacturing process, as wellas the structural integrity of the finished glass product.

Input 110 then proceeds through a standard air classifier 130, whichblows or vacuums away items such as loose paper, labels and plasticsfrom input 110. An air classifier is a device that uses a moving streamof air to separate light waste components (paper, plastic film,textiles, dust, leaves, foil, etc.) from heavy components (glass, metal,wood, bulk plastic, etc.). An air classifier such as manufactured by CPManufacturing, National City, Calif., may be used.

Non-ferrous separators 131 and 160 are standard separators, such as aneddy-current separator, that separate out items such as aluminum cansand rings, and/or brass, copper, magnesium, and zinc items from theremainder of input 110. An eddy-current separator works through theprinciple of high-frequency oscillatory magnetic fields, which induce anelectric current in a conductive object such as an aluminum can. Theoscillating fields can be adjusted to optimize separation. This electriccurrent generates a magnetic field, which causes the object to berepelled away from the primary magnetic field. Conductive particles canbe fed either directly into the non-ferrous separator's 131, 160rotating drum, or onto a belt enveloping the drum. In one or moreembodiments of the invention; one or more inspectors 118 may be used inlieu of non-ferrous separator 131 to remove non-ferrous material.

Optical sorter 135 is a standard optical sorting system typically usedin conventional beneficiator recycling plants to optically detect andsort glass within input 110 by color. An optical sorter manufactured byBender & Co. (Austria), represented in the U.S. by Tomen America(Charlotte, N.C.), may be used. However, in system 100, even if opticalsorter 135 is present, the use of optical sorter 135 is optional. Ifoptical sorter 135 is not present in system 100, input 110 can proceedfrom non-ferrous separator 131 to ceramic detector and separator 150,feed hopper 150, or ferrous separator 150, depending on theconfiguration and/or operational configuration of system 100. If opticalsorter 135 is present in system 100, switching optical sorter 135 offmay increase the speed at which input 110 can be processed by system100. In another embodiment, optical sorter 135 can advantageously beused to sort out ceramics if it is not used to color sort the glass ininput 110. In yet another embodiment, optical sorter 135 can be used toimage and sort input 110 as in a conventional system. For example,multiple optical sorters (not shown) can be provided that respectivelysort a particular glass color. The glass colors can be diverted intovarious lines for processing. In still another embodiment, input 110 canbe processed by optical sorter 135 multiple times, with optical sorter135 selecting a particular color of glass for each run.

Because the invention may process mixed cutlet for a glass plant thatdoes not need to process color sorted glass, system 100 does not need tosort glass by color. Moreover, input 110 can advantageously be processedusing a single processing line so that different glass colors do nothave to be placed on separate lines. Regardless of whether glass withininput 110 is separated by color or remains mixed together, the glass canbe processed in the same manner by various configurations and/oroperational configurations of feed hopper 150, ferrous separator 155,non-ferrous separator 160, crusher 165, screen 170, vacuum 175, storagebunker 180, and/or quality control sorter 185, as described herein.

Ceramic detector and separator 140 can receive input 110 fromnon-ferrous separator 131, or optical sorter (if used). Ceramic detectorand separator 140 can be a standard ceramic remover that extractsceramic contaminants from glass pieces that are about 1.3 centimeters toabout 6.4 centimeters in size. Input 110 may be fed into ceramicdetector and separator 140 by a vibrating conveyer belt, which keeps thematerial in a thin layer. In one embodiment, input 110 enters ceramicdetector and separator 140 ,the glass passes over a plate embedded withfiber optic cables. A pulsing light (usually visible light) is projectedthrough the glass to the fiber optic cables, which detect the positionof any opaque material. Ceramic detector and separator 140 then directsone of a series of “air knives” to remove the ceramic material with aburst of air. The Glass ColorSort™, by MSS Inc, Nashville, Tenn.(purchased by CP Manufacturing, National City, Calif.), can be used asan integrated unit that performs the functions of optical sorter 135 andceramic detector and separator 140.

A crusher, such as described above in connection with contaminant screen120, may be used to reduce glass to a predetermined size, since ceramicdetector and separator 140 operates more efficiently when processingpieces of glass ranging in size from, for example, about 1.3 centimetersto about 6.4 centimeters in size.

Feed hopper 150 receives input 110 from non-ferrous separator 131,optical sorter 135 or ceramic detector and separator 140, depending onthe configuration used, as described above. Alternatively, if feedhopper 150 is not utilized, input 110 can proceed from non-ferrousseparator 131, optical sorter 135 or ceramic detector and separator toferrous separator 155.

Input 110 proceeds to ferrous separator 155, which can be a separator asdescribed above with regard to ferrous separator 116. Ferrous separator155 extracts any remaining ferrous material from the stream withindustrial magnets. The stream then passes through non-ferrous separator160, which removes any remaining non-ferrous metals such as lids, rings,and cans. Non-ferrous separator 160 can be a separator as describedabove with regard to non-ferrous separator 131. In an alternateembodiment, ferrous separator 155 and/or non-ferrous separator 160 canbe eliminated if ferrous separator 116 and/or non-ferrous separator 131,respectively, clean input 110 to the desired level.

Crusher 165 is a standard crushing unit that crushes or smashes glass toa predetermined size for further processing or handling. For example,model HMG40, manufactured by C.S. Bell Co., Tiffin Ohio, may beutilized. Crushed glass may also enable system 100 to process input atan increased throughput rate. Pieces of glass greater than about 1.6centimeters are then optionally screened out by screen 170, and returnedto crusher 165 for further crushing before traveling to vacuum 175,which removes or substantially removes debris and other contaminants,such as labels, bits of paper, plastics and/or other contaminants.Screen 170 may be a standard finger screen.

In another embodiment of the invention, if crusher l65 and screen 170are no use, pieces of glass having a size equal to or smaller than 1.6centimeters proceed from non-ferrous separator 160 to vacuum 175, andpieces larger than about 1.6 centimeters proceed from non-ferrousseparator 160 to feed hopper 150 if used, or alternatively to ferrousseparator 155. The pieces larger than about 1.6 centimeters willgenerally be broken into smaller pieces when circulated back to feedhopper 150 or ferrous separator 155. In yet another embodiment of theinvention, if the glass is not crushed, input 110 can proceed fromnon-ferrous separator 160 to vacuum 175.

In one embodiment, a washing station can be used. The washing station istypically a closed-loop system with multiple screens, operatingoptimally in the range of about 150° F. to about 170° F. The temperatureshould be at least 130° F. Additionally, some type of detergent may beused. Typically, a 1% caustic solution such as sodium hydroxide will beideal. During the washing stage, vibrating water action agitates theglass and thereby loosens solid debris such as label glue, paper fiberand food. Filters are used to keep the circulating water clean and alsoto remove fine dust and debris. After a thorough washing process, theglass is then rinsed in a monolayer with clean water.

After the washing stage, the glass may be transported by a vibratingconveyer through a shaker-feeder station where a vibrating perforateddeck removes bulk moisture from the glass. The purpose of theshaker-feeder station is simply to remove bulk moisture from the glassbefore subjected to forced hot air during the subsequent drying stage.The shaker-feeder significantly increases the efficiency of thesubsequent drying station.

The washed glass from the shaker-feeder station may be further dried bygoing through a drying station. Typically, the drying station may be avibrating, forced hot air, fluidized bed using a gas or oil fired heatsource. As an example, a 1.5 MBTU gas-fired heat source would besufficient for this process. The fluid bed dryer which has a perforatedstainless steel deck, operates optimally with a supply of forced airfrom about 180° F. to about 200° F. which should maintain operatingtemperature of the dryer from about 140° F. to 180° F. After the glasspasses through the drying station, the glass is substantially dry withabout 0.25% maximum moisture content.

Input 110 is then discharged from vacuum 175 into storage bunker 180,which is a standard storage bin or any holding apparatus, where qualitycontrol sorter 185 (e.g., a human sorter) removes any remainingcontaminants. At output 190, the ,cleaned glass may be shipped to anentity such a bottle manufacturer for use in bottle production.

Thus, embodiments of the invention advantageously provide beneficiatorswith enhanced processing capabilities, particularly since system 100provides the option of whether or not to color sort. Beneficiators willno longer be required to color sort mixed cullet, and will no longerneed to dilute glass separated by color with mixed cullet in order torealize significant value from the mixed cullet.

FIG. 2, generally at 200, illustrates an exemplary method 200 ofrecycling mixed colored glass supplied to beneficiator glass recyclingsystem 100. The method of FIG. 2 utilizes the following sequential,non-sequential, or sequence independent steps for processing mixedcolored glass using, for example, system 100. The method described inFIG. 2 is exemplary, and may performed in different orders and/orsequences as dictated or permitted by system 100, and any alternativeembodiments thereof. In addition, the method described herein is notlimited to the specific use of system 100, but may be performed usingany system that is capable of obtaining the material(s) as described inconnection with system 100.

At step 205, input 110 is fed into feed hopper 115. At step 210, ferrousmaterial separator 116 extracts ferrous material from input 110. At step215, inspector 118 removes contaminants from input 110.

At step 220, input 110 proceeds to contaminant screen 120, which removesor substantially removes contaminants exceeding a predetermined sizethat have been transported beyond inspector 118. At step 225, physicalscreen 125 screens out pieces of glass smaller than, for example, about1 centimeter in size, which are likely to be contaminated with ceramic.

At step 230, air classifier 130 uses currents of air to further removecontaminants, such as bits of paper, labels, and plastics from input110. At step 235, non-ferrous separator 131 removes non-ferrousmaterials, such as aluminum containers, from input 110. A humaninspector may be used in lieu of non-ferrous separator 131.

At decision step 240, if an optical sorter is used to process input 110,optical sorter 135 performs an optical sort at step 245. When glass iscolor sorted, multiple optical color sorters 135 may be used to divertglass of a particular color to respective separate conveyor belts withinsystem 100. In another embodiment, optical sorter 135 can also beadjusted to detect various glass colors. Input 110 can pass throughoptical sorter 135n multiple times so that optical sorter 135 willdetect: and separate the desired glass color. If optical sorter 135 isnot used, at step 250 input 110 can proceed to ceramic detector andseparator 140, if used. When glass in input 110 is not color sorted,system 100 can generally process input 110 at a higher throughput.

Feed hopper 150 may optionally be used to receive input 110 fromnon-ferrous separator 131, optical sorter 135 or ceramic detector andseparator 140, depending on the configuration and/or operationalconfiguration of system 100, as described above. If input 110 canproceed directly from non-ferrous separator 131, optical sorter 135 orceramic detector and separator 140 to ferrous separator 155, then feedhopper 150 need not be utilized, even if present within system 100. Iffeed hopper 150 is utilized, then at step 255 input 110 proceeds fromfeed hopper 150 to ferrous separator 155, which is used to furtherextract metal material from input 110. If feed hopper 150 is notutilized, then input 110 can proceed directly from non-ferrous separator131, optical sorter 135 or ceramic detector and separator 140 to ferrousseparator 155.

At step 260, non-ferrous separator 160 is used to further separatenon-ferrous metals, such as aluminum rings and tabs, from input 110. Atdecision step 265, a determination is made whether to crush glass withininput 110. If at decision step 265 it is determined that the glass is tobe crushed, in one embodiment, crusher 165 may be used to crush theglass at step 270. At step 275, the crushed glass within input 110proceeds to screen 170. At decision step 277, a determination is madewhether any pieces of the glass within input 110 exceed a predeterminedsize. If there are pieces of glass smaller than or equal to apredetermined size of, for example, about 1.6 centimeters, at step 280the smaller glass pieces proceed to vacuum 175. Pieces of glass having asize greater than about 1.6 centimeters are returned to crusher 165 forfurther crushing. At step 285, quality control sorter performs a finalquality inspection of input 110, and removes and final contaminants.

In another embodiment, if it is determined at decision step 265 thatglass is to be crushed and crusher 165 is not utilized, at step 270input 110 can proceed from non-ferrous separator 160 to screen 170, fromwhich pieces of glass smaller than or equal to, for example, about 1.6centimeters proceed to vacuum 175 at step 280. Pieces of glass having asize greater than about 1.6 centimeters are returned to feed hopper 150(if used), or to ferrous separator 155 if feed hopper 150 is not used.One'or more iterations of transporting input 110 from screen 170 to feedhopper 150 or ferrous separator 155 will further break all or a vastmajority of glass down to the desired size.

If at decision step 265 it is determined that glass will not be crushed,at step 280 glass within input 110 proceeds to vacuum 175. At step 285,quality control sorter performs a final quality inspection of input 110,and removes any remaining contaminants. Output 190 is glass that can beshipped to a glass plant for use in a recycling process.

As discussed herein, the beneficiator of the invention can process andcleans glass through two separate processing lines. The lines can bephysically separate or they can be partially or totally integrated. Inanother embodiment of the invention, the first line is used tomechanically and/or manually sort glass by color (e.g., flint, amber, orgreen) and to remove contaminants. Thereafter, the second or anotherline is used to mechanically or manually add mixed cullet to the singlecolor cutlet and, optionally, to remove contaminants and/or to furtherclean, screen, and/or crush the cullet to achieve size uniformity. Forexample, mixed cullet can be added to flint glass; mixed cullet can beadded to amber glass; or mixed cullet can be added to green glass. Themixed cullet can be added to the single color cullets in amounts up toabout 75% by weight; up to about 50% by weight; up to about 25% byweight; or up to about 10% by weight. When mixed cullet is added to thesingle color cullet, the mixed cullet generally comprises from about 45%to about 90% by weight flint, about 25% to about 35% by weight amber andfrom 0 to about 30% by weight green; or from about 50% to about 80% byweight fling, about 10% to about 30% by weight amber and from about 5%to about 25% by weight green. After the single color cullet is combinedwith the mixed cullet, the resulting product can be used by a glassmanufacturer.

Because the beneficiator of the invention can combine single colorcullet with mixed cullet, the beneficiator of the invention can be paidto take stockpiles of mixed cullet from conventional beneficiators whotypically have to pay to have their stockpiles of mixed cullet removedfrom their facilities for use in glasphalt or aggregate. Thus, theinvention provides an alternative use for the mixed cullet that isgenerated by conventional beneficiators.

Although the invention has been set forth in detail, one skilled in theart will appreciate that numerous changes and modifications can be madeto the invention, and that such changes and modifications can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1-5. (canceled)
 6. A method for obtaining mixed cullet from wastematerial comprising: (i) receiving waste material comprising a firstmixed cullet and contaminants; wherein the first mixed cullet comprisesgreen glass, amber glass and flint glass; and wherein the contaminantscomprise ceramic material and ferrous material; (ii) removing thecontaminants from the waste material to yield the first mixed cullet;(iii) sorting the first mixed cullet to provide a second mixed culletcomprising about 40% to about 90% by weight flint glass; about 5% toabout 40% by weight amber glass; and about 1% to about 30% by weightgreen glass; and (iv) obtaining the second mixed cullet in a receivinghopper.
 7. The method of claim 6, comprising sorting the first mixedcullet to provide a second mixed cullet comprising about 45% to about85% by weight flint glass; about 10% to about 30% by weight amber glass;and about 5% to about 25% by weight green glass.
 8. The method of claim6, comprising sorting the first mixed cullet to provide a second mixedcullet comprising about 50% to about 80% by weight flint glass; about15% to about 25% by weight amber glass; and about 10% to about 20% byweight green glass.
 9. The method of claim 6, further comprisingcrushing the first mixed cullet to a size of about 1.6 centimeters orless.
 10. The method of claim 6, comprising sorting the first mixedcullet with an optical sorter to provide the second mixed cullet. 11.The method of claim 6, further comprising (i) washing the first mixedcullet, (ii) washing the second mixed cullet, or (iii) washing the firstmixed cullet and washing the second mixed cullet.
 12. The method ofclaim 6, further comprising providing the second mixed cullet to a glassarticle manufacturer.
 13. The method of claim 6, wherein the method ofremoving the contaminants from the waste material comprises one or moreof the following steps: (i) removing the ferrous material with a ferrousmetal separator; (ii) removing the ceramic material with a ceramicdetector and separator; (iii) removing contaminants with an airclassifier; and (iv) removing contaminants with an optical sorter.
 14. Amethod for producing mixed cullet comprising: (i) receiving wastematerial comprising a first mixed cullet and contaminants; wherein thefirst mixed cullet comprises green glass, amber glass and flint glass;(ii) separating the mixed cullet from the contaminants; (iv) adding themixed cullet in an amount greater than 5% by weight to a single colorglass stream to produce a second mixed cullet; and (iv) obtaining thesecond mixed cullet in a receiving hopper.
 15. The method of claim 14,comprising adding the mixed cullet in an amount greater than 10% byweight to a single colorglass stream to produce a second mixed cullet.16. The method of claim 14, further comprising selling the second mixedcullet to a glass manufacturer.
 17. The method of claim 14, furthercomprising crushing the first mixed cullet to a size of about 1.6centimeters or less.
 18. The method of claim 14, further comprisingwashing the first mixed cullet.
 19. The method of claim 14, wherein themethod of removing the contaminants from the waste material comprisesone or more of the following steps: (i) removing contaminants with aferrous metal separator; (ii) removing contaminants with a ceramicdetector and separator; (iii) removing contaminants with an airclassifier; and (iv) removing contaminants with an optical sorter.
 20. Amethod for improving the efficiency and productivity of a beneficiatorcomprising: (i) accepting waste material comprising mixed cullet andcontaminants; wherein the mixed cullet comprises green glass, amberglass and flint glass; and wherein the contaminants comprise ceramicmaterial and ferrous material; (ii) separating the mixed cullet from thecontaminants; and (iii) providing the mixed cullet to a glassmanufacturer; wherein the method excludes a step of separating the greenglass, amber glass and flint glass in the mixed cullet by thebeneficiator.